Results starting to show locally from September job fair

Published: Friday, October 12, 2012 at 7:47 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, October 12, 2012 at 7:47 p.m.

One month ago, more than 1,200 people swarmed into the biggest job fair in recent Gainesville history looking for work.

Most carried resumes, examples of their work and hopes for a brighter future.

Were any matches made Sept. 11 at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Multipurpose Center?

Hard numbers are difficult to know, as many of the businesses are still processing applications. But count Interim HealthCare among the immediate success stories.

Sherry Mitchell, a registered nurse and director of Interim HealthCare, said she's already added three people to her staff from the event, with more hires possible.

The northwest Gainesville company has six other people going through the hiring process and about 20 others waiting to be interviewed, she said.

"We had a tremendous turnout," she said. "I was hoping we would not have a small crowd, and we did not."

The event was the result of a targeted effort. With thousands of unemployed people in her east Gainesville district, City Commissioner Yvonne Hinson-Rawls wanted to bring job opportunities to her constituents.

She helped organize the fair, working with the city of Gainesville, FloridaWorks and several other Gainesville business and government organizations.

Hinson-Rawls said she was elated about the higher-than-expected turnout.

"That means they are actively engaging themselves in job searches," she said.

More than 30 employers participated in the fair, some handing out applications while others offered information.

Lucian Batson, of the Agency for Persons with Disabilities-Tacachale, said recruiters handed out about 250 applications. Around 25 people filled out paperwork for some of the agency's entry-level, direct care positions.

The agency will need to process the applications before scheduling interviews, said Batson, human resource manager for the agency.

"It will be sometime in October and in November when we start really seeing the fruits of the people who actually attended the job fair," he said.

While Batson's recruiters received a lot of interest from potential employees, others did not.

Kayla DiDonna, hiring coordinator for the Gainesville Health and Fitness Center, said many people at the fair were not interested in what her company provided.

"A lot of people kind of came in to grab an application and go," she said, adding that the center did have about three people call back for interviews.

DiDonna said her staff left by noon, noting that some people approached her table just to have their cards filled out in order to qualify for the job fair's free lunch.

She said the center held its own job fair from Sept. 19 to Sept. 21, in which the center received about 100 applications.

Recent reports indicate some glimmers of good news in the local and national unemployment rates.

On Sept. 21, a report released by Florida Department of Economic Opportunity stated that the unemployment rate dropped to 7.1 percent from 7.8 percent in July in the metro area that includes Alachua and Gilchrist counties.

The rate had been 8.5 percent in August 2011.

And last week, the Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate in the United States had fallen to 7.8 percent in September from 8.1 percent in August.

Hinson-Rawls, however, said she is not satisfied. She said she remains concerned about the thousands of unemployed people in her district, some of whom she said do not have the skills to compete for an entry-level position.

Some applicants are "discouraged by having to go online" to apply for jobs, she said. For them, Hinson-Rawls provided an alternative.

"We did have some simultaneous workshops on navigating the web to find a job because we knew we needed to do that," she said.

She added that not only were many applicants discouraged about going online, they also didn't have word processing skills.

Hinson-Rawls said she plans to set up a job training program to teach computer skills "in an effort to help our citizens be better prepared for the jobs that do exist."

Hinson-Rawls also said she wanted to work with employers about another potential roadblock for hiring people: Some applicants have criminal backgrounds.

"It had been my hope that I've given the employers sufficient information, so as not to feel afraid to give people with criminal backgrounds a second chance," she said. "That is a big issue."

<p>One month ago, more than 1,200 people swarmed into the biggest job fair in recent Gainesville history looking for work.</p><p>Most carried resumes, examples of their work and hopes for a brighter future.</p><p>Were any matches made Sept. 11 at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Multipurpose Center?</p><p>Hard numbers are difficult to know, as many of the businesses are still processing applications. But count Interim HealthCare among the immediate success stories.</p><p>Sherry Mitchell, a registered nurse and director of Interim HealthCare, said she's already added three people to her staff from the event, with more hires possible.</p><p>The northwest Gainesville company has six other people going through the hiring process and about 20 others waiting to be interviewed, she said.</p><p>"We had a tremendous turnout," she said. "I was hoping we would not have a small crowd, and we did not."</p><p>The event was the result of a targeted effort. With thousands of unemployed people in her east Gainesville district, City Commissioner Yvonne Hinson-Rawls wanted to bring job opportunities to her constituents.</p><p>She helped organize the fair, working with the city of Gainesville, FloridaWorks and several other Gainesville business and government organizations.</p><p>Hinson-Rawls said she was elated about the higher-than-expected turnout.</p><p>"That means they are actively engaging themselves in job searches," she said.</p><p>More than 30 employers participated in the fair, some handing out applications while others offered information.</p><p>Lucian Batson, of the Agency for Persons with Disabilities-Tacachale, said recruiters handed out about 250 applications. Around 25 people filled out paperwork for some of the agency's entry-level, direct care positions.</p><p>The agency will need to process the applications before scheduling interviews, said Batson, human resource manager for the agency.</p><p>"It will be sometime in October and in November when we start really seeing the fruits of the people who actually attended the job fair," he said.</p><p>While Batson's recruiters received a lot of interest from potential employees, others did not.</p><p>Kayla DiDonna, hiring coordinator for the Gainesville Health and Fitness Center, said many people at the fair were not interested in what her company provided.</p><p>"A lot of people kind of came in to grab an application and go," she said, adding that the center did have about three people call back for interviews.</p><p>DiDonna said her staff left by noon, noting that some people approached her table just to have their cards filled out in order to qualify for the job fair's free lunch.</p><p>She said the center held its own job fair from Sept. 19 to Sept. 21, in which the center received about 100 applications.</p><p>Recent reports indicate some glimmers of good news in the local and national unemployment rates.</p><p>On Sept. 21, a report released by Florida Department of Economic Opportunity stated that the unemployment rate dropped to 7.1 percent from 7.8 percent in July in the metro area that includes Alachua and Gilchrist counties.</p><p>The rate had been 8.5 percent in August 2011.</p><p>And last week, the Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate in the United States had fallen to 7.8 percent in September from 8.1 percent in August.</p><p>Hinson-Rawls, however, said she is not satisfied. She said she remains concerned about the thousands of unemployed people in her district, some of whom she said do not have the skills to compete for an entry-level position.</p><p>Some applicants are "discouraged by having to go online" to apply for jobs, she said. For them, Hinson-Rawls provided an alternative.</p><p>"We did have some simultaneous workshops on navigating the web to find a job because we knew we needed to do that," she said.</p><p>She added that not only were many applicants discouraged about going online, they also didn't have word processing skills.</p><p>Hinson-Rawls said she plans to set up a job training program to teach computer skills "in an effort to help our citizens be better prepared for the jobs that do exist."</p><p>Hinson-Rawls also said she wanted to work with employers about another potential roadblock for hiring people: Some applicants have criminal backgrounds.</p><p>"It had been my hope that I've given the employers sufficient information, so as not to feel afraid to give people with criminal backgrounds a second chance," she said. "That is a big issue."</p>